Weekending.....

Happy Monday everyone :) I am linking up with B Loved Boston and Champagne and Suburbs for Weekending... This weekend was packed with just about everything-- and it obviously went by way too quickly. This week is the first full week of school-- FIVE DAYS! Yikes ;) I hope I am ready for it haha. But before I worry about the week ahead, I'll recap my happenings from the weekend. 

{FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT}

- Since the weather was much cooler on Friday, I found myself enjoying a nice walk around the neighborhood when I got home from school. I have been trying to stay active, but the heat has definitely made it difficult. Friday afternoon, there was a nice breeze, and I am so glad I was able to enjoy the cool temps. 

- Friday night, I went to a co-worker's house for an Arbonne party. One of my co-worker's friends is trying to expand her client base, so my friend decided to host a party for her. I didn't really know that much about the company and their products, and I did find the party very informative. Plus, it was nice to get together with friends and acquaintances and just have a "girls night." After reviewing some of the products, I decided to try out their shampoo and hand/body lotion. The only thing about this company is that the products are EXPENSIVE! The prices are reduced if you become a consultant, host a party, or join as a client or preferred client. I hope I like the products I purchased haha but I hope I don't like them too much that I want to continue purchasing them-- otherwise it would be smart to become at least a "client." I am also skeptical at how "green" or "natural" all of their products are. I did some research, and although they do not seem to be the best "all natural" company out there (there are so many companies out there!), their products are without a lot of chemicals that could potentially be harmful. After attending this party, I started to think about whether or not I want to change some of the products I use at home. I have to be honest though, it is hard to figure out/find the best products to use. For example, even The Honest Company has been under scrutiny lately. I have used their soaps and kitchen cleaners and I love them! There is so much to research and think about-- I'm a little overwhelmed. I'll keep you all posted as I continue to investigate! 

{SATURDAY}

- Saturday morning, my husband and I slept in :) Although, I must confess that I did wake up before him due to a lot of baby activity :). I was in the mood for a nice brunch, so we went to a local place known for their breakfast food: Parker's Maple Barn. 

Baby's first trip to Parkers! (Definitely not the last) 

- I had the most amazing pumpkin pancakes (with eggs, homefries, sausage, toast haha) and my husband got the Irish Breakfast. It was so so good! It kept us full until dinner :) Got to love brunch! 

- After we got breakfast, we headed to Lowe's. This seems to be our weekend tradition now :) There are a few projects "we" (mostly my husband) are trying to finish before the baby comes. We are pretty much done the baby room, and once we have the decor and crib all set, I will post updated pictures. The next project on the list is the kitchen. My husband is making my dream kitchen come true :) We are painting the cabinets white, putting down new flooring, and installing a backsplash. The first task is to paint the cabinets, which is what our trip to Lowe's was all about. 

- When we came home from Lowe's, my husband got to work taking down the cabinet drawers and removing the hardware. He then used TSP to clean the cabinets and doors, and sanded them all to prep them for primer. While he was hard at work, I was also hard at work cleaning the rest of the house. 

- Saturday night, after dinner, we went to get some much needed ice cream (baby needed it ;))-- even though it was raining-- I think we both needed to get out of the house for a little bit haha 

- When we got home, we were in the mood for a movie, so we watched "V for Vendetta." I had never seen the movie, and I have to say I actually really liked it. I honestly think I am the last person to watch this movie haha. 

{SUNDAY}

- After church, I came home to my husband hard at work prepping the kitchen area for primer! Once he finished sanding and cleaning the cabinet areas, he got to work priming the surfaces. 

Here are some before and in-progress pictures: 

This is how it will be for a while ;)

These pictures are after one coat of primer. It still needs another coat of primer, but I love how bright the kitchen looks already! Definitely what I was hoping for :)

While my husband was hard at work in the kitchen, I was hard at work grading. So. much. grading..... Thankfully, I was drinking pumpkin spice coffee (yes the only type of coffee I am craving during pregnancy), watching "Sleeping Beauty" (the classic cartoon one), and lounging with comfy pants on.   

This was my view for the afternoon/early evening. 

- When I finally finished grading one assignment, we made dinner: hamburgers, potatoes, and asparagus. I also prepped dinner for tonight-- a crockpot recipe from Mix and Match Mama: recipe here. I will let you know how it turns out! Lastly, I made pumpkin bread for the week-- seriously such a great snack or breakfast alternative. The recipe I use is from Simply Recipes found here. Again, I use the "old" recipe with oil instead of butter. 

- Finally, my husband and I relaxed and watched some football. 

It was a busy, but great weekend! I hope you all had a great weekend as well :) 

Dream Kitchen Remodel

My husband and I were extremely lucky to find our house. We started looking at houses last Spring, not really knowing when we would find "our house." We had a general idea of where we wanted to live-- we were trying to find a place in the middle of where we both work (I ended up with the closer commute-- love you :)). After only a couple of months, we found our house. Jim fell in love with it first-- his face said it all. Seeing him love this house, well it just made me love this house too. I have to give it to him-- he saw potential (where I saw dirt haha). He could see our family here, our kids growing up here, fire pits and bbqs in the backyard, summer night walks, and I saw it through his eyes.

We did A LOT of cleaning! But, once the grim was gone, we had a blank canvas to work with. I am not a natural decorator-- ask my husband haha. I love decorations, but sometimes my decorations look a bit cluttered. I have been a work-in-progress, but I finally realized that we could take our time with making the house our own. We are lucky in that there was nothing "major" we had to remodel or fix right away (still crossing  my fingers). The bathrooms were great and functional, the kitchen just needed updated appliances, and overall the floors and walls were in pretty good shape. This gave us the ability to pick which room we wanted to focus on remodeling first. We have decided to work on the kitchen-- luckily we can build off of the main aspects of the kitchen (got to love remodeling on a budget). 

Kitchen when we moved in (ignore the cleaning supplies): 

Our kitchen now:

My husband and I love watching HGTV-- which can be awesome and misleading all at the same time (everything looks so easy to put together!) and we especially love "Fixer Upper." Chip and Joanna Gaines are not only adorable and work extremely well together, but they can turn any house into an amazing, cozy home. I have also been looking to Pinterest for ideas and inspiration (have you ever seen "Pinterest fails?" I feel like that is in my future). 

My dream kitchen (and trust me- I am indecisive so this plan could change) includes the following: 

White Cabinets// Dark Knobs// Farmer Sinks

I don't know when my obsession with white cabinets started, but it is a full-fledged obsession. We can use our existing cabinets (solid oak wood), so all we have to do is sand, prime, and paint (I think-- Jim will figure out the details, and I will just be doing what he says haha). I am also just as obsessed with farmer sinks.  I'm loving the look of the following cabinets, knobs, and farmer sinks: 

    

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Subway Tile: Back splash

I blame HGTV for my insane love of subway tile back splash. When did I become such an adult? haha-- I never noticed these things until I had a house of my own. Surprisingly though, one of my students was well versed in home improvement projects (one of my many tangents in class), and did have an opinion on house decor. However, I feel as though I did not care about these things until I had my own house (I am so sorry mom and dad!). Regardless, back to my back splash! I love subway tile, particularly in aqua and light green. 

       

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Dark Hardwood Floors (or flooring that looks like that) and Potential Counter tops: 

Our flooring at the moment is a tile-like laminate that is falling apart, cheap, but surprisingly hides a lot of dirt (I have a feeling I am going to like floors that this in my future), however, Jim and I love a dark, hardwood look. We don't necessarily need to have real wood for our flooring, but we do want a functional floor that has that same look. We also like the butcher block look for our counter tops (which you can see in a lot of these pictures), but we also love the way gray granite counter tops look. We are even loving the sleek look of concrete counter tops. Help! Too many choices :)! 

          

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How about you guys? Have you recently done a kitchen remodel? What did you do? Did you go with white cabinets? What are your counter tops? What did you do for flooring? I would love input!!!! Thanks for reading :)